Stockholm Syndrome
by ohtheconspiracy
Summary: It was a trap. It had all been a trap set up by the man that had held her hostage before, and now she was a hostage yet again. Can she survive? And even worse, what happens when Kate finds herself falling for this supposedly evil man? Kate-Ari pairing
1. Chapter 1

"Go home, Agent Todd," Gibbs murmured with annoyance as his ever-eager employee made her way past his desk. It was already 4:00 in the afternoon and technically it was her day off. For some unfathomable reason, though, she had decided to show up anyway.

"Can't, Gibbs. I have to finish these reports." She sat quickly at her desk, reading through the papers. Gibbs glared at her from across the bullpen, but she seemed unaffected by his stare.

"No, you don't. DiNozzo can do those," at his words Tony's head shot up, a horrified expression on his face.

"Woah there, boss! Unlike Kate, I actually do have a life-" he stopped when Gibbs' glare shot his way, Gibbs' eyes causing the back of his head to sting.

"-which I will gladly sacrifice to help Kate." He murmured slowly, a forced smile now on his face. Kate just laughed, continuing her work. Tony's fear of Gibbs was amusing.

"Kate, you can just go home now," Gibbs eyes were on her again, although the glare was gone. His eyes were sympathetic now, and she knew why.

Ever since she'd been taken hostage, along with Ducky and Gerald, by the mysterious terrorist, she'd had a trouble staying at her apartment alone.

She knew it was ridiculous. He wasn't coming back for her or anything, and the rational side of her brain told her that continuously. Still, there was something about being in that dark, empty apartment that brought her back to him. That man with the strange, fascinating eyes...

She was ripped from her thoughts by her phone ringing, and she answered it quickly.

"Agent Todd, NCIS."

"Hello, Caitlin," the voice whispered into the phone. Her heart stopped.

It was him.

She started making frantic gestures at Gibbs, Tony, and McGee. Tony looked at her, confused, but Gibbs grabbed his phone quickly, demanding a trace be put on her phone.

"Who is this?" She murmured, stalling for time. The man laughed, sending a quick chill down her spine.

"I think you know who I am."

And she did.

"What do you want?" Her voice was almost a whisper now.

"I am having a little get together with some friends of mine today, and I was hoping you and your team could join me," his voice carried the obvious smirk she knew he was wearing.

"Where?" was all she could manage.

"We're meeting up at the First American Bank around 4:30ish. I'd love for you to join me," and then he hung up before she could speak. She slammed the phone down, shouting,

"Gibbs, it's him!" She didn't need to explain. Gibbs knew who _him_ was.

Everyone was moving now, frantically arming themselves and making calls.

"Something's going down at the bank in," she checked her watch, "less then 20 minutes!" Without another word, the team made their way to the elevator.

Only as the doors began to close did McGee finally say,

"Do you think this is a trap, boss?" Gibbs glanced at him, a knowing expression in his eyes.

"Oh yeah. I know this is a trap."

The elevator doors slid shut.

---- ------

Kate now stood in a corner of the bank, her eyes slowly scanning the crowd inside. She'd been assigned to watch from this far corner and she could see Tony across the room, flirting with the bank manager. McGee and Gibbs were posted outside, waiting.

But what they were waiting for, no one knew.

Kate began to skim a brochure about smart investments, her eyes still scanning the room. There were about five people inside the bank, not including the tellers and the old, slow-moving security guard by the door. He'd been informed of the situation, and he now stood at full attention, continuously glancing out the window nervously. You could tell that in all his years working here nothing like this had ever happened. She just hoped he wouldn't do anything stupid.

Kate glanced at her watch again.

_4:38_

She started to think that maybe this was just a distraction, something to get them away from the office. Maybe she should-

Her thoughts were interrupted, however, by the jingle of the door, signifying that someone had entered. She turned to see a tall, brutish man walk in. She watched him as he slowly made his way forward, walking past the small line straight to the teller's desk.

"I need to make a withdrawal," he murmured in a thick, Middle Eastern accent.

"Sir, you need to wait in the line," the small teller replied shakily, feeling nervous under the man's intense stare.

"I need to make a withdrawal," he said again, sounding almost robotic. The thought occurred to Kate that that might be all the English he knew. She glanced at Tony, whose eyes were also locked on the man.

Tony began a slow approach to the man, his hand slowly twitching towards his hidden gun. The man, however, did not seem to notice, as his attention was fully on the teller.

"This account. Here. Withdraw." He handed her a sheet of paper which she read quickly.

"Do you have an ID, sir?" She replied, typing the number into the computer. Kate could see the frustration growing on this man's face, and she herself started to slowly approach him until she heard it.

"_Caitlin." _Her name was being whispered softly from behind her. She turned slowly, praying it was been her imagination.

It wasn't.

Standing behind her was a man in simple blue jeans and a dark leather jacket over a hoodie, the hood pulled up over his head. He wore dark glasses and was sporting a splatter of facial hair around his chin and mouth. Even like that, she knew who he was.

It was him.

Without a second of hesitation, she reached into her jacket and whipped out her gun, aiming it at him. He was ready for this, though, and was on her in a second, shoving the gun up into the air above their heads. He held her wrist up like that and pushed her back against the counter.

The gun went off.

The world went crazy. The people in the bank started freaking out, trying to make their way out the front door, only to find two new men standing in the doorway sporting guns.

Kate and the man continued their struggle for the gun until, finally tired of the games, he shot a knee out, slamming it into her stomach. She recoiled, hitting the ground and letting go of the gun. He sighed over her, the gun now in his hands.

"I did not want to hurt you, Caitlin. You made me do it," she glared up at him from the floor, angry at herself for letting go. She looked over at Tony only to find that the brute had disarmed him as well, pushing him to the ground. The men ordered everyone else to the ground and approached the now extremely terrified teller. The brute returned to her and slowly mumbled, yet again,

"I need to make a withdrawal." This time she complied.

--- -----

Gibbs sat in a car directly across from the bank, his eyes locked on the door. McGee was posted around back by the only other exit, a small door in an alley. He noticed a van pull slowly into the alley McGee was in, and he sat up, watching it disappear. He thought about doing something when he noticed it.

This strange, disgusting smell slowly filled the car.

H looked around, searching for the source as the smell grew, now ravishing his nostrils and causing his eyes to water.

"What the?" His eyes soon settled on a small, grenade-like object that sat next to the open passenger window, leaking a strange gas. Someone must have walked by…

Fear gripped him as he reached for it, desperate to chuck it out of the car, but it was too late.

The gas had taken its effect on him, and he slumped over the arm rest, his fingers reaching towards the device as he slipped into unconsciousness.

His last conscious thought was about Kate.

-----------

"What do you mean there is no such account?" The man roared at the terrified bank teller, causing her to slink away from him.

"I-I'm sorry," she stuttered, her hands shaking as she typed on the computer. "I s-s-swear, it says there is no s-such account!" She even turned the monitor around to show him. This just made him angrier. His eyes flew to the man who still stood over Kate.

"Haswari," He hissed angrily, "You assured us the accounts would be here!" The man, whose name seemed to be Haswari, just sighed angrily.

"Well, my friend, I seem to have been wrong." This just made the other men even madder, and they now turned their attention to Haswari. Noticing their new attention, Tony began slowly reaching towards his ankle.

"How will we finance now?" They demanded.

"Listen, my friends. This is not something to become upset about. Just demand money and they will give it to you. We have guns, remember?" His arrogant smirk remained even with a room full of angry men with guns. Kate was almost impressed.

Almost.

"Fine, fine," He turned back to the bank teller. "Give me your money, then." She jumped at his words and soon the men had themselves full bags. They all began to move towards the back door, making their way out into the alley in an attempt to escape.

Only Haswari remained, standing over Kate.

"You know, Caitlin, I've thought about you a lot recently," He smirked, pulling her to her feet. She glared at him, shirking away from his touch. His back was to Tony, so Tony fully reached for his ankle and pulled out his hidden gun, standing slowly and aiming at him. And Haswari could sense this.

And then Haswari was behind her, his arm snaking around her throat, her gun pressed roughly to her temple. She reached up desperately, trying to pull his arm away, her eyes locked on Tony.

"Take the shot, Tony." She said in a voice so calm it shocked even her.

Haswari ducked a bit behind her, his eyes locked on Tony. Tony looked hesitant, unsure of what to do. He could just barely see Haswari from around Kate's head. If Ari yanked her even a little bit…

"DiNozzo! Take the shot!" She was screaming now as Haswari dragged her towards the exit. Tony followed hesitantly, his gun still trained on them as Haswari slowly walked Kate out the back door. The other men were already outside in the van, waiting for their leader to escape.

"Perhaps we can do this again some time, Agent DiNozzo," Haswari murmured in his ever-so-arrogant voice. He slammed the door shut behind him, turning the lock roughly. Now it was just Kate and Haswari.

And the gun.

Haswari looked down at his captive, his twisted smirk never leaving his face. She could feel his breath on her neck and she fought the goose bumps now flowing up her arms.

"What to do now, Caitlin," he breathed in a low voice, reinforcing the chills on her body, "What to do…" He started walking her forward now, the gun still pressed to her head. As they walked through the alley she saw, to her horror, an unconscious McGee slumped against the wall, his head smeared with blood. She started tugging towards him, but Haswari's firm grip kept her in place.

At his approach, the van's door was flung open to allow him in. He pulled her up in after him, slamming it shut and ordering something roughly in a language she did not recognize. The van lurched forward, and soon they were racing off and away from the bank, away from the rest of the NCIS team.

_Away from help,_ Kate thought sadly.

There were no seats in the back of the windowless van, so Haswari propped himself against the far wall. Kate sat in front of him, practically in his lap, the gun now resting on her shoulder and aimed at her throat. She was fighting to control her breathing, trying to hide her fear. Haswari's arm had dropped now and was now loosely wrapped around her waist. She fought the urge to rest her hands on his arm, so instead she crossed them tightly in front of her.

I _should have listened_, she thought sardonically. _Gibbs said to stay home today. I should have stayed home._ At this thought, she let out a soft, agitated sigh.

And that was when the others noticed her.

"What? Who is she, Haswari?" The man driving the van growled in patchy English.

"Relax. She is simply insurance," He replied smoothly, slightly tightening his grip on her waist. She held her breath. They were probably going to kill her soon.

The man let out a slew of what Kate assumed were curses before returning his attention to the road. Kate could still feel Haswari's breath on her neck, and he knew he was causing those chills she tried so hard to hide. He blew purposely now, blowing air softly on her. He smirked to himself when she twitched slightly, the chills on her arm now painfully obvious.

"Well, did we get what we wanted, at least?" Haswari, distracted by his attempts to make Kate uncomfortable, seemed to not understand his question.

"What?" The man sighed with annoyance.

"Did we get the bank numbers we needed?" He was practically growling now.

"Hm? Oh, no. I was mistaken. They were not there," he returned to his work on Kate's neck.

A loud, animal-like roar erupted from the driver.

"What? We just did all of that and we come up empty handed?!" His driving became shaky, and Kate worried that he might go up on the sidewalk and take out a few pedestrians.

Haswari just laughed to himself, resting his forehead against Kate's head. She started to move away until the gun clicked softly against her throat.

She froze.

"What are you talking about? We still managed to obtain the right amount of money we needed. Everything is alright, my friend." Always the charmer, Haswari's gentle words were able to defuse the man's anger. Gradually, the van filled with silence as they sped down the highway.

"Besides," Haswari murmured gently against Kate's ear so only she could hear him. "I got exactly what I came for." His arm tightened even more around her waist, now fully pulling her into his lap. Her heart stopped.

The phone call.

The robbery.

Using Kate as a human shield.

He'd planned it all, all of it to get the one thing he wanted:

Her.

---------

So I've really been getting into the Kate/Ari pair recently, which is kind of sad considering they're both… you know, dead.

But I'm not going to let that silly fact stop me (;

Still, I've had this concept going through my mind a lot recently, and I knew that if I didn't at least start writing it I would never be able to focus on any other stories, so here it is!

I personally love the concept of Stockholm syndrome, where a prisoner starts to become loyal to their captor. I don't know, I'm just big on psychological stories. So yeah I bet you can figure out what this story is going to be about.


	2. Chapter 2

Kate soon found herself being bustled out of the van and onto what she assumed was a road. She had no idea where she was, considering Haswari had forced a sack over her head, and her arms were secured tightly behind her in her own handcuffs. Haswari guided her through the darkness with a hand clamped firmly on the back of her neck, pushing her forward. _Just like Gibbs_, Kate thought to herself humorlessly. _He's got a thing for necks just like Gibbs. _

She felt the ground beneath her soften considerably. She assumed she was now on a dirt path and they followed this path for what felt like hours, her stumbling along with only Haswari's hand keeping her up.

Construction sounds filled her ears and she could hear people shouting in an unrecognizable language. Kate felt Haswari make a sharp turn and she could tell by the change in sounds that she'd been brought into a building.

She was forced into a chair and she sat there in silence, listening as the voices argued in that language.

It took her a few minutes to realize they were arguing over her. She contemplated chiming in, but hands yanking her from her seat and forcing her outside changed her mind.

She stumbled along, fear gripping her stomach as she felt her feet touch stairs.

"Up," she heard Haswari's voice mumble. Angrily, she ascended the stairs and found herself being dragged into a new room.

"This is where you will be staying from now on," Haswari's voice dictated in the darkness. Her heart sunk at the words 'from now on'.

_Sounds permanent._

The bag was soon pulled from her head and, after adjusting her eyes to the light, Kate took a slow, steady look around.

The room was pathetically empty. There was a bed in the corner, a single sheet on top for warmth. In the far right there was a desk and a chair with one tiny lamp to provide light in the corner. Besides that, it was empty.

Nothing but four windowless white walls.

"You have got to be kidding me."

Haswari just laughed to himself, undoing her handcuffs.

"Welcome home, Caitlin."

-----------

Gibbs woke up to a knock on his window as an FBI agent stood outside, and he saw that the street was filled with sirens and emergency vehicles.

"What the-," was all he could manage as he pulled himself up, glancing around the crowded street. He glanced around at the yellow tape around the bank and slowly his memory returned to him. He remembered the bank, Haswari's call, the gas bomb…

He yanked open the car door and flew down the street towards a nervous Tony and a bloody McGee.

"What happened?" he barked as he scanned the area.

"It was a trap," McGee murmured, annoyance in his tone. _Of course it was a trap. They'd known it was a trap, but they didn't have any other choice. There wasn't enough time…_

"Yeah, I got that, McGee," Gibbs replied with a glare, "but that doesn't answer my question: What. Happened?"

Tony and McGee exchanged looks, having a detailed conversation with their eyes. McGee's eyes shouted at Tony's as they disputed whether or not it would be wise to fill their boss in on the details. However, as Gibbs cleared his throat their eyes found his, and his eyes certainly dominated the conversation. Tony cleared his throat, too, in an attempt to stall, before finally mumbling,

"Well boss, you see… well… one of their men came in trying to access an account, and I started to stop him but then _the terrorist_ grabbed Kate and used her as a shield while they stole the money and… to make a long story short they got away." Gibbs shot daggers at him until he added,

"Oh! But we learned the terrorist's name!" The anger in Gibbs' eyes morphed into excited anticipation as he said,

"Well? What is it?" Tony grinned triumphantly as he said,

"Haswani." He declared with a giant smile, though it subsided as he mumbled,

"Wait, was it Haswati? Haswari?" He was immediately met with a ridiculously hard head slap.

"What's the name, DiNozzo?" Gibbs shouted angrily.

"Haswari! That was it, boss! Definitely!" Tony mumbled defensively, still scanning his brain for possible names. Gibbs' eyes fell on McGee now.

"What happened to you?" McGee just sighed, attempting to wipe some of the now dry blood from his face.

"They jumped me in the alley, boss. Slammed my head into a wall," he rubbed his head sympathetically, wincing at the pain. There would definitely be a lump there in the morning.

"They knew our tactics. They knew where we were going to be. This was a definite set up. They wouldn't have done all that for money, though," Gibbs mumbled as he once again scanned the crime scene. The others nodded, following his actions.

"What were they after?" At these words Tony and McGee immediately locked eyes, once again silently conversing. Gibbs, noticing they hadn't answered his somewhat rhetorical question, glanced back to find them deep in an argument. His eyes narrowed.

"What do you know?" Their eyes immediately flew to him, their lips pulled into tight lines. Gibbs watched suspiciously for a moment until it hit him.

"Where's Kate?" Gibbs asked slowly. Why _isn't she wasn't standing with them?_ McGee and Tony exchanged skeptical looks and started to talk, but stopped themselves several times. This infuriated Gibbs.

"Where's Kate?!" He was shouting now, oblivious to the glances the police around were throwing.

"Uh boss," Tony finally managed, "she's gone."

These words hit him like a ton of bricks.

_She's gone._

-------------

Kate roughly estimated that it had been at least four hours since Haswari had put her in what she was beginning to consider a less hot version of Hell. She couldn't be entirely sure, though, considering he had taken her watch from her. Not to mention that the windowless walls gave her no clue as to whether it was night or day.

She'd spent the last (four?) hours wandering around the incredibly bare room, searching for anything that could help her escape. She'd stripped the desk completely, pulling out any drawers she could.

The drawers were all relatively bare, containing nothing more than a few stray paper clips and a single battery. Only the bottom drawer provided her trouble, as it was locked and surprisingly sturdy. After ten minutes of struggling with it she gave up and moved on, though there wasn't much to move on to. With a sigh she resigned herself to sitting on the bed, waiting for something to happen.

That is, of course, until her eyes locked on the small metal lamp sitting on the wooden desk.

And then she had an idea.

------------

Haswari made his way up the stairs of the construction building with a bag of greasy take out food and a large drink in his hands. He took the steps two at a time, unable to hide his excitement over his new captive.

Confusion swept over his face as he pushed his way into a completely dark room.

"Caitlin?" He mumbled, stepping forward into the darkness.

The sound reached his ears before he felt it as metal and bone met. Haswari dropped instantly, his face slamming into the ground and through the red haze and the dancing stars he could just make out his captive running out the door and into the hallway.

--------

Kate had no idea what she was doing as she raced down the steps of the narrow stairwell. She still clutched the lamp she'd used as a weapon in her hand just in case she met anyone along her path to freedom.

She took the steps two at a time as she raced down, but accidentally tripped on the fifth one. Kate felt herself stumble and tried to steady herself, which only resulted in her crashing head first into the door that was only a foot away from the bottom step.

"Ow…," was all she could manage as she slumped on the ground, rubbing her aching head. _Graceful, Kate. Graceful. _Still, this was no time to wallow in her own head trauma.

With great effort, she pulled herself from the ground and yanked on the door only to find it wouldn't open.

"Come on, come on," she murmured to herself as she tugged at the door. _Please! Open!_

She knew she had maybe seconds until Haswari woke up, but what could she do? There was literally nothing else. It was a narrow staircase that led directly to a door; no side rooms, no hidden hallways. Just stairs, then door.

And a very stubborn door, at that.

Kate, so enwrapped in her failing escape efforts, didn't notice the stumbling man rushing down the stairs until she felt him slam into her, his body slamming her against the wall.

She let out a cry as he pushed her there, grabbing at her arms.

Kate wasn't afraid as he heaved her up, his arms wrapped securely around hers to restrain her movements. She kicked and fought every step of the way back into the room.

Kate wasn't afraid when he pulled the door shut behind him, locking them both in. He moved to the desk in the darkness and quickly plugged the metal lamp back in, never letting go of Kate's arm. She still struggled, though it was useless now that they were in the room. Her escape had failed. Still, she found some solace in the rather large head-shaped dent now permanently etched into the metal lamp.

It wasn't until the room was illuminated and she saw the look on his face that she felt anything but pure fury. It wasn't until he pushed her forward, throwing her onto the pathetic excuse for a bed. It wasn't until he climbed on after, forcing her down, pinning her arms behind her as his hot breath hit her face.

It wasn't until then that Kate was afraid.

-------------------------------

So I am so happy to finish this chapter.

I've had such a major writer's block for the last few days that I was starting to doubt I even knew how to write to begin with.

It's quite annoying, actually, considering I knew exactly what I wanted to happen, I just didn't know how to say it. ):

So yeah, I had wanted to continue this scene a little farther but I thought it would be much more evil to go ahead and cut it off right here (:

Muwahahaha.


	3. Chapter 3

Pure, unadulterated panic isn't even a fitting description of how Kate felt as he pressed against her, his teeth nipping roughly at her neck. She fought as hard as she could, horrifying thoughts flashing through her mind as she realized how hopeless her situation was.

If she did somehow manage to fight him off, what would she do then? She was trapped in this room with him on what she assumed was a terrorist compound. There was no escape.

But that didn't mean she wasn't going to try. She did everything she could to fight back, digging her nails into his arms, aiming desperate kicks at his groin. She felt his mouth on her throat, the intensity of the moment magnified when she felt him bite down hard. She clenched her eyes shut, convincing herself to just fade away to a happy place until he finished.

And then suddenly his weight was gone and she heard the springs of the bed as he pulled away. Unsure, she still laid on the bed, eyes shut and hands clenching the sheets desperately, her shirt half pushed up already. Slowly, fearing this might be some sort of trick, Kate opened her eyes.

She was shocked to see Haswari clear across the room, pacing back and forth close to the farthest wall, trying to put as much distance between them as possible. She could see his ragged breathing and it was quite obvious how much he was fighting the urge to attack her again.

"I- I'm sorry, Caitlin," he stammered, his hand covering his mouth while his eyes lit bright in shock and horror. The guilt of what he'd done, or rather had almost done, was evident in his eyes.

"I just… I lost control of myself for a moment." He was silent then, just staring off, never removing his hand from his mouth. Kate, having started to slow her breathing to a normal rate, just watched him, still a little edgy.

She held her breath as she watched him, seeing his struggle for self-control. It seemed too much for him, though, as he quickly stormed out of the room muttering,

"I will bring you some food."

She waited a minute after the door closed before she allowed herself to breath again. It had taken all his discipline to stop and she found herself feeling thankful to him for it.

Wait, what?

Why was she thankful to him? What, thankful he_ didn't_ rape her?

_Don't start sympathizing with him_, she chastised herself. _That's exactly what he wants._

She sat in silence, wondering if he realized he'd brought food already as it was now strewn across the ground of her room, the drink on its side as the dark liquid seeped into the carpet.

------------------------------

Her answer came forty minutes later when she heard the soft clicking of the door unlocking. She pushed herself back across the bed, backing up until she felt the wall. She wanted to stay as far away from him as possible as he slowly entered the room empty-handed. Apparently he had realized.

There was no hesitance in his step as he moved to her desk; his eyes were now relaxed and arrogant. He strode casually into the room, slowly dragging out the chair from beneath the desk. Kate cringed as it scraped, sounding much like nails on a chalk board. He pulled it into the center of the room, sitting on it backwards, his arms folded on top of the chair's back as he watched her slowly.

She squirmed slightly under his watchful eye and she subconsciously pulled the sheet tightly around her, covering herself. Haswari noticed this and, for the briefest moment, had a guilty look in his eyes.

Then it was gone, and the arrogance returned.

"I apologize, Caitlin, for earlier. I... I momentarily lost control, it seems," he told her calmly, his eyes locking with hers. He pauses for a moment, as though he were expecting her to reply. He was met with silence.

"Well, on to business then, hmm? Here is how it will be: You will be fed twice a day, maybe three times if you are good. You will not make loud noises; you will _not_ damage anything in this room," his eyes briefly flashed to the dented lamp,

"What you damage will not be replaced. If you must use the bathroom, knock on the door, then turn and face the opposing wall with your hands visible by your sides. You may or may not be allowed to go, depending on who is on guard duty."

Kate just watched him, a look of confused horror on her face. How long did he intend to keep her here? Haswari smirked at that before slowly standing up and taking a few steps towards her. She instantly flinched away, fully pressing herself against the wall.

He hesitated for a moment before continuing to her, sitting on the bed's edge. She pulled herself as far from him as possible.

"What do you want from me?" a scared, quiet voice asked.

"How long are you going to keep me here?"

It took Kate a moment to realize the voice was hers.

Haswari just smirked at her for a moment, ignoring her questions as he hesitantly reached towards her, motioning towards her throat. She flinched at his gesture.

"I marked you."

There was no hiding the arrogance in his voice and Kate's hand flew up to her throat. She flinched instantly, feeling the tender skin that would definitely result in a bruise. She felt her cheeks flush at the thought that he'd left a hickey on her. Haswari definitely noticed the blush as his smirk grew an inch.

"I will let you go," Haswari said as he slowly stood up, "when my mark on you fades away."

She shot him a slow, skeptical look which only caused him to smirk even more.

"And you expect me to believe that?" Her voice was a little more confident now that she realized he probably wasn't going to spontaneously jump at her. He laughed a loud, condescending laugh that sent shivers down her spine.

"No, I do not." He walked back to the door, pausing as he opened it to say,

"Sleep well, Caitlin."

Something in his tone assured her that she wouldn't be sleeping at all.

---------------------------------

Her first night was miserable.

The small air conditioning vent just above her bed started pumping out icy air mere minutes after Haswari had left. _Torture,_ she thought glumly. She'd tried her hardest to curl up for warmth, but the single sheet she was provided was useless. At one point in the night she'd attempted to jam her sheet into the vent, but the air seemed to force its way through the sheet, hitting her now uncovered body as she shook on the bed below. She found herself shaking and shivering nonstop for the rest of the night, visualizing herself on a beach in Mexico. The visualization didn't help much.

At some point in what she assumed was the early morning the vent shut off and she couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. She'd been up all night, her violent shaking waking her up every time she had managed to pass out. She felt waves of joy wash over her as her body temperature increased and her shivers died down a bit.

Kate found herself being lulled by her newfound warmth into a state of unconsciousness, but was quickly ripped from it as the door flew open, hitting the wall with a loud bang.

She sprung up, instantly alarmed, but she relaxed when she saw it was Haswari. She wasn't sure why she felt relief at seeing that it was him, though she tried to convince herself it was just her exhaustion affecting her mind.

_Yeah, that's it. Exhaustion._

She watched him shrewdly as he entered the room, pushing the door with his back as he carried two plates in his hands, two water bottles tucked between his arms and his torso.

He flashed a smirk at her, kicking the door shut with his heel as he approached the bed. This time Kate made no move to flinch away, either from the loss of fear or her sleep deprivation. He sat carefully on the bed, placing one of the plates in front of her and passing her a water bottle.

She stared down at the plate, surprised to find it held two eggs made over easy, the way she liked it, and two slices of bacon.

_How incredibly American._

She wasn't quite sure what she'd expected, but this certainly wasn't it. Still, she was hesitant to touch the food, so she just stared at Haswari with half-lidded eyes.

"Good morning, Caitlin. How was your night?" She could tell instantly that he knew just how unpleasant her night had been. There was no doubt in her mind that he had personally made it that unpleasant.

"It was ridiculously cold last night," she mumbled, her fatigue evident in her voice and deeply red eyes.

He just smiled,

"Caitlin, if you are in need of something, you can always just ask." She almost felt relief as she momentarily thought that maybe he would be offering to turn the vent off, or at least provide her with a blanket of some kind.

"I will gladly spend the night with you. I will keep you warm." Her heart dropped as her smirked at her, slowly taking a bite of the bacon from his plate. She just glared at him, fighting the urge to bare her teeth.

"No thanks. I'm good," she murmured bitterly, pushing the tray of food away from her. She had completely lost the urge to eat. His haughty laugh once more filled the room and he leaned towards her, closing the small distance between them.

"Are you sure, Caitlin? I hear it can get quite cold in these rooms at night." His voice was dripping with such egotism as he spoke that her hand twitched involuntarily, aching to hit him. Her mind reminded her quickly, however, just what happened the last time she'd struck him…

"I'm sure I'll be fine," she replied dryly, holding his stare. He just laughed as he quickly finished his bacon, starting to eat his eggs. Kate watched him silently for a moment, unable to ignore the new pangs of hunger hitting her stomach.

She glanced down at the food suspiciously, still feeling a little too proud to eat the food he gave her. He watched her, enjoying her uncertainty.

"The food is good, Caitlin. You should eat some." She shot him a glare before defiantly mumbling,

"I'm not hungry."

At that moment, as if perfectly timed by fate itself, her stomach let out a loud, demanding roar.

Its doubtful Haswari's smirk could possibly grow any larger after that. He reached forward gently, poking her belly. She felt a shiver run through her and, much to her surprise, it wasn't at all unpleasant. It was the good kind of shiver which, in this case, was most definitely the bad kind.

"Your body disagrees." He let out another short laugh, shaking his head. Kate sighed angrily, a small amount of stubborn pride still remaining. She wasn't entirely ready to let him have a victory, even if that victory was just her eating his food.

Seeing how she still refused to eat, Haswari leaned in even closer, bringing their faces inches apart. Kate's breath caught in her throat, her eyes locking with those familiar, fascinating eyes. She was so entranced by them in that moment that she almost missed his whispered,

"Your body knows what it wants." He watched her eyes, gauging her reaction to his statement, that omnipresent smirk on his face. Her sleep-deprived brain took a moment to process the double meaning of his proclamation and she quickly pulled away from him, a giant blush gracing her cheeks.

Haswari couldn't help but let out a roar of laughter, delighting in her embarrassment. This was just too fun. Kate grabbed her water and plate and scooted to the back of the bed, once again pressing herself to the wall. Hesitantly, she opened her bottle and took a careful swig. Haswari nodded his head in approval.

She pointed an accusing finger at him before mumbling,

"You stay over there." He held his hands up defensively, his smirk morphing almost into a smile as he said.

"Relax, Caitlin. I am not going to try anything--" Staring at him incredulously, she slowly began eating her breakfast. The minute the food hit her stomach she felt a sigh of relief hit her as she furiously began digging into her meal, suddenly aware of just how hungry she was. She was so caught up in her desperate devouring that she didn't hear Haswari softly whisper,

"--yet."

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Aha sorry for scaring everyone last chapter!

I'm going to be gone all this weekend so I wanted to go ahead and update now~


	4. Chapter 4

The sound of banging filled the empty hallway as Kate furiously pounded on her door, shouting for the tenth time,

"I need to talk to someone!" She hopped from one foot to the other, her knees squeezed awkwardly together as she desperately tried to 'hold it in'. This was the first time since she'd been taken that she truly needed to go to the bathroom and she just now realized that there wasn't one in this room.

"Come on, answer me!" she shouted urgently. She wasn't going to hold out much longer. Relief washed over her as she heard heavy footsteps and an aggravated sigh. A voice called through the door in patchy English,

"Go to wall. Put hands where I see." She obeyed the agitated voice happily, rushing to the wall to assume the position. Her bladder's desperate calls for release were becoming even stronger.

"Ok! Ok, I'm at the wall!" she cried out, desperate for him to take her to the bathroom. She heard the door click open as a shadow fell over her and the voice, now much closer, asked,

"What is it you are wanting?" he was clearly not at all happy to be here.

"Bathroom! Please, I need to go to the bathroom." She tried to keep the desperation out of her voice, but she couldn't help the quiver in her voice. She _really_ had to go.

The man sighed again, clearly not in the mood to deal with this crazy American, but he had direct orders from Haswari and he knew what happened when you disobeyed. He reached out quickly, grabbing her shirt's collar as he pushed her out the door.

Kate hopped forward eagerly, letting the man's guiding hand show her where to go. She was shocked to see that there was a door a few feet from her room. It was hard to notice at first, considering it was painted the color of the walls and blended in almost seamlessly.

The man reached in front of her, quickly opening it and shoving her in. Kate felt a twinge of anger as she saw the giant hallway before her, a half dozen rooms lining the walls and a staircase at the end.

If she'd only known this was here before! Maybe her frantic flight for freedom would have lasted longer if she'd been paying just a bit more attention.

She was ushered to the first room on the right and shoved roughly in, the door being pulled shut behind her.

"Five minutes," the voice called from the other end as she heard the door lock from the outside. She glanced around eagerly, taking in the sights around her. This was the first time in…what? Two days? No, it had to be more than that. It felt like two years, two centuries. Too long.

This was the first time in two days that she'd seen anything but that bare room with it's blank, haunting walls. Her eyes danced across every part of the small room, mentally memorizing every detail.

The room was incredibly small, basically a large closet with a toilet. The walls were covered in an old, faded wallpaper that was layered with dirt and there was a single sink sitting in front of a grimy mirror.

After hastily making use of the rather disgusting looking toilet, Kate took her time slowly washing her hands, running the water up and down her arms. It had been two days since she last showered and she felt disgusting.

She slowly washed the grime away, taking her handfuls of water and rubbing them across her neck and hair. Her hands lingered over her neck, the cool water contrasting with the heat she felt from the now purple mark on the side of her neck. She stared at it in the mirror, recalling his words,

"_I will let you go when my mark on you fades away."_

Was he being serious? If that was the case, what was the point in even keeping her now? He must have some sort of angle; otherwise he wouldn't be taking these steps to keep her here. Maybe he was trying to get back at Gibbs…

Her mind drifted to Gibbs and the rest of her NCIS family. Were they worried about her? It upset her to think they were out there, wondering whether she was dead or alive. Still, this was her team she was talking about. They would definitely find a way to get her back; they'd rescue her. _Soon,_ she prayed to herself. _They'll rescue me soon._

Kate's eyes fell back to herself in the mirror and she shuddered at the wreck of a woman staring back. She looked horrible. Working quickly, she tried to wipe away the days old makeup that caked her face and, after what felt like forever, managed to scrub the majority of it off. She looked up again at her now lightly red skin, happy to feel clean for the first time in a long time.

There was a loud banging at the door as the man yelled,

"Time is up."

She sighed, saddened at the thought of returning to that dreadful room. As she started to leave the sink, however, her eyes were drawn to a slight glint hidden behind the handle. She felt a lump catch in her throat as her heart started a frenzied beating.

Nudged between the thin space between the wall and the sink's tarnished handle was a single, rusted razor blade.

The banging returned and her eyes flew to the door, seeing it start to unlock. Without a second thought her hand reached out, quickly grabbing the razor blade and pocketing it. She watched as the door swung open and an explicitly angry man glared at her as he barked,

"Time is up!"

He reached in roughly, dragging her out into the hallway. She was about to protest, but fell silent, her eyes locking on the man standing before them and blocking their path. Haswari watched them with a slight smirk, leaning against the door frame. The man dragging her dropped his hand, a solemn look on his face as he mumbled something she didn't understand. Haswari only nodded, replying in the language. The man nodded, accepting what he'd said, and turned and left the two of them alone in the hall.

Kate stared nervously at Haswari as he scanned her slowly and for a fleeting moment she almost thought that he knew about the razor blade. Something in the way he looked at her, he had this arrogant 'I-know-you've-been-bad' aura that surrounded him and gave her chills.

"Hello, Caitlin," his voice reverberated throughout the hallway and Kate fought the urge to shrink away. Why was she so afraid of this man?

He held up a bag of take-out, continuing with,

"Chinese. Hungry?" She nodded hesitantly and he gestured past him down the hall, indicating for her to lead the way. Slowly, she walked towards him and gradually slid past where he stood in the threshold, her shoulder brushing his chest and his breath on her cheek. Her heart quickened as she felt his fingertips gingerly brush across her side as she passed, and she upped her pace as she made her way back to her room.

She almost felt relieved as she pushed her way in, her mind still lingering on the place Haswari had gently touched. This room had more space than the hallway, so she could pull herself away from him. Kate moved to the bed, heaving herself to the now familiar position at the back of the headboard, as far from Haswari as possible.

He walked into the room slowly, placing the food on her desk and pulled out cartons. There were a few moments of silence, and Kate found herself suddenly chirping,

"I want to take a shower." He glanced at her, the corners of his lips threatening to pull up.

"Really? You know, I wouldn't mind one myself. Why don't we—"

"No. Nevermind. I'm fine."

She shook her head, averting her eyes as her face grew bright red. The tugs at his lips were no longer a threat as he now had a full-fledged grin.

"Oh, come now, Caitlin. Must you deny me so eagerly? You didn't even allow me to finish my sentence." He couldn't hide the chuckle in his voice, which only made her face grow even redder. After a small internal struggle, she managed to drag her eyes back to his. His chuckle died out when he saw the desperation in her eyes. Haswari couldn't help but sigh, furrowing his brow as he frowned.

"Fine, fine. You may have your shower." Her face lit up instantly and his frown started to tug upwards again.

"When?" she asked eagerly, suddenly feeling incredibly itchy and unclean.

"Right now. Come, take off your clothes." Her jaw quite literally almost hit the ground.

"What? No! Stop it, Haswari," she murmured nervously, tired of his games. She was just so tired of all of this…

Haswari chuckled.

"Relax, Caitlin, unless you intend to shower in your clothes. Fine, come with me." He motioned for the door and, hesitantly, Kate let him lead her out into the hallway and down the corridor until they reached what seemed to be a shower room.

There were five shower heads lining the tiled walls, a giant drain in the center. This immediately made Kate nervous. Haswari noticed this and quickly explained,

"All of the men have already showered for the day, so no one will come in. Besides, there is only one door here and it actually locks from the inside." He motioned for the lock.

"It will be fine. Your towel is over there on the hook and I will bring you some fresh clothing." And with that he was gone, disappearing out of the room. Kate walked hesitantly to the door, taking extra precautions to be sure that it did truly only lock from the inside. Satisfied that she was secure, she stripped off the dirty clothes, relief overcoming her as they were peeled away. They were disgusting.

She moved over to the first shower head in the row, quickly turning it on. She was instantly hit with a shockwave of cold as the water hit her and she quickly yanked it to as hot as it could go. Gradually, it warmed and the room soon filled with a thick layer of steam as she enjoyed the shower.

There was a single, giant bar of soap sitting on the ground a few feet away and she stared at it for a long time, mentally debating whether or not to use it. This was obviously a community shower, so who knows how many people used that….

Still, she had to feel clean again. With a slight feeling of disgust, she rubbed her hands across the bar until they were fully lathered and then desperately began cleaning herself. She had never before felt as good as she did in that shower, roughly scrubbing the layers of dirt from her body. It felt like a spa to her after the weekend she'd had.

A slight knock on the door made her jump, her fear of someone getting past the lock reentering her mind. She was soothed, however, when Haswari's voice called,

"Caitlin, there is fresh clothing here." She didn't acknowledge the voice, however, as she was too absorbed in the feel of this shower. After what felt like hours, she reluctantly decided to turn the shower off. Her fingers were starting to look like prunes.

Wrapping the towel around her, Kate went to unlock the door, peeking her head outside. She nearly jumped when she saw Haswari looming not even a few inches from her, his eyes scanning her lecherously. She closed the door a few inches, hiding everything but her bright red face as she quickly mumbled,

"Clothes." Haswari laughed condescendingly before slowly handing her the clothes in his hands. She pulled them into the room quickly, slamming the door and locking it.

This man was just too much.

After quickly dressing in the oversized t-shirt and sweatpants she'd been given, Kate opened the door to an expectant Haswari leaning against the wall.

"All finished?" She nodded, feeling so much better. Haswari took a step towards her, mumbling,

"Alright then. Where are your old clothes?" He motioned to indicate he wanted to come into the shower room.

Kate's heart stopped.

The razor blade.

"Uhh…, hold on," she turned, shielding the clothes from his prying eyes, as she leaned in to pick them up.

_Ba-bump. _

Her heart decided to restart at that exact moment and it seemed to her that it's beat was unnaturally loud, practically ricocheting off the walls.

_Ba-bump._

Kate's hands shook as she reached into the pocket, her fingers finding the familiar rectangular shape. She could have sworn Haswari could hear her heart beat. Taking it out carefully, she subtly slipped it into the string of her underwear at her hip, hiding it beneath her giant t-shirt.

And suddenly she could breathe again. Or at least she could, until she turned around to find Haswari breathing down her neck.

"What was that, Caitlin?" he asked coyly, a knowing look in his eyes. She involuntarily took a step away from him, but he took a step forward in response. This continued for a few steps until she was backed up against the wall, his breath on her cheek as his deep eyes studied her. He slowly rested his hands on the wall on both sides of her head, effectively pinning her there. There was something enchanting in his eyes, a certain sparkle that both relaxed and terrified her.

"What was what?" she fought for control in her voice and, despite the screams of her conscience, her eyes flickered to his lips_. No, stop. Eyes on his eyes._

He laughed slightly, noticing her struggle to focus, so he decided to help by leaning in ever so slightly, his lips just hovering above hers. She let out an involuntary gasp, and then quickly regretted it. What was she doing?

Setting her jaw, she decided to stare him down, her eyes fully focused on his eyes. Noticing this, Haswari fought a pout as he finally pulled away from her, saying,

"Oh, never mind." He turned and picked up her dirty clothes, starting to head out into the hallway. She let out a long exhale, relief washing over her. She had no idea what just happened, but somehow- somehow she'd been tempted to kiss him.

Shaking away the thoughts, her hand subconsciously fell to the tiny blade hidden beneath her clothes.

If it came down to it, would she really be able to use it?

Thinking back to that moment in the shower, she wasn't so sure anymore.

--------------

Haswari entered the grubby hallway bathroom later on that night, his eyes adjusting to the darkness the single bulb light couldn't disperse. He walked in leisurely, carefully inspecting every corner of it.

His eyes found there way to the sink and a huge, knowing smile soon crept across his face. He pushed his fingers gently in the space where it had once been, double checking to prove it was gone. His strategically placed razor blade was no longer carefully wedged where he'd left it. Things were working out just as he'd planned.

"Good girl, Caitlin," he purred happily, turning the lights off and slowly leaving the room.

"Good girl."

-----------------------------------

Haha I just can't let her have a win, can I?

And The Fabulous Mrs Cole Turner, you were definitely right.  
He is developing a little Lima Syndrome.

And .- I giggled a bit when I saw you suggested I may be an actor, on the simple basis that I'm anything but (:

It made me giggle because I actually have really bad, very debilitating stage fright, so I would probably be anything in the world BUT an actor.


	5. Chapter 5

The bullpen was uncharacteristically quiet this morning as the two men worked silently, the quick clicks of computer keys the only noticeable sound. There was a solemn vibe throughout the workspace as the two men were lost in their own worlds.

It had been three days since the kidnapping. Three days of frantic searching, full-scale man-hunting, favor calling, and phone answering at their tip line.

Three days of nonstop work with absolutely no results.

They knew his name now.

Ari Haswari.

Graduate from Edinburgh Medical College.

They knew his parents, they knew his history.

They just didn't know where he and Kate were.

One of the men sat at his desk rubbing his eyes in frustration before staring at the empty desk across from him. He'd been staring at that desk constantly these past few days, always praying on some level of his subconscious that if he stared at it long enough she might materialize right there, in her seat, magically. If only he'd done something, maybe if he'd gotten to the man before Haswari grabbed Kate; maybe if he'd just taken the shot…

"DiNozzo!" his boss' angry call yanked him from his 'what-if's.

"Yeah, boss?" he asked dryly, his voice lacking any enthusiasm. They were all so exhausted.

"Any hits?" Tony didn't even need to answer; they both knew there's nothing.

"McGee?" Gibbs demanded, his eyes flashing to the other man. McGee just gave him a sad, glum nod. Gibbs growled, storming out and up the stairs to MCAT.

Tony turned to McGee, opening his mouth to say something, when a new voice echoed in with,

"I am here to see Special Agent Gibbs." Tony glanced up to see an attractive, dark-haired woman standing before him. His playboy smile appeared instantly as he leaned in.

"Well you are in luck. That would be me." She gave him a quick look before laughing.

"No, I am not joking. I really do need to see Special Agent Gibbs." Tony felt his ego deflate at her ability to see through him and he shot a quick glare at McGee, who sat snickering at his desk.

Tony finally scanned her skeptically before mumbling,

"For what?" She just turned away from him, walking over to Kate's desk to lean against it.

"That is none of your concern." She turned back, noticing the slight glare the men were sending her way.

"Please get off her desk," Tony murmured in a semi-threatening tone. She gave him a sideways glance before pulling herself off the desk.

"I apologize." She made a mental note to sit at that desk at some point in the future.

"So, with whom am I speaking?" Tony finally asked, pretending to riffle through some papers on his desk to avoid looking at the woman.

"Ziva David, Mossad." She brandished her ID for him, which immediately caught his interest.

"You're Israeli?" This earned him a short, sarcastic chuckle from the Mossad agent.

"Very good, the way you made that connection: Mossad, Israeli…," she wandered the bullpen, ignoring the looks the men were shooting her.

"Well then, what can I do for you, Miss Da-veed?" She glanced at him condescendingly before saying,

"Nothing. I'm here to see Special Agent Gibbs."

"How do you know I'm not Gibbs?" Another sarcastic chuckle. He felt a twinge of annoyance at her.

"Fine then. What do you want with Gibbs?" She rolled her neck slightly, rubbing her hand across it. Tony felt another twinge, only this time he wasn't so sure it was annoyance.

"I'm here to offer my assistance for your dealings with a rogue Mossad agent." This took Tony's mind off that uncomfortable twinge.

"Ari Haswari?" Ziva smiled, nodding her head.

"Yes. He's gone off track and I'm here to help you bring him in," after a slight thought, she added, "alive."

Now it was Tony's turn to laugh sarcastically.

"You really think Gibbs' plans to bring him in alive?" Ziva shook her head, mumbling,

"No, I do not. That is why I am here."

"Well, no offense miss 'Da-veed', but I want him dead, too." This earned him a surprisingly dark glare from Ziva, before she turned and scanned the room.

"Gibbs isn't going to like having you around watching him," McGee warned from where he sat, giving Tony the opportunity to shift his pent up aggression and tension on him.

"Gee, Probie, you think?" Tony snapped.

"Tony, I was just trying to…"

This was the point that Ziva David tuned the men out, instead allowing her mind to wander back to the wayward agent she'd come to recover.

--------------------------------------

Haswari studied the dirty clothes he'd laid out carefully on the table in front of him. What had he gotten himself into?

Things were not looking good for him as of late. It had been a spur of the moment thing, really. His group needed quick finances and he knew how easy it would be to get it. He hadn't meant to start thinking of her, at first. She'd just forced her way into his mind, which had actually become a regular sort of thing.

He couldn't keep his mind off that defiant brunette from the morgue.

He really shouldn't have done it; that much was obvious. It was so spontaneous, such an underdeveloped plan. So unlike him.

Haswari could still remember the thrill of hearing her voice on the other end of the line; the fear. He remembered how she felt pulled against his chest, the smell of her hair. He remembered the courage she had when she ordered Agent DiNozzo to take the shot, despite the danger.

The memories were intoxicating.

Absentmindedly, Haswari reached forward and took Kate's blouse into his hands, smoothing out the material. Gripping it firmly in both hands, he tugged and listened to the soft _click _as the button popped off and clattered to the ground. He continued with his thoughts, slowly pulling the blouse apart in his hands. The continuous clicking of buttons helped soothe his mind as he regarded his current predicament.

He realized now that taking her had been a selfish thing to do and it would probably hurt him in the end, but he couldn't will himself to give her back. He'd developed a possessiveness towards her. He couldn't ignore the small hints of jealousy that would sprout up whenever another man was around her.

He wanted her all to himself.

His handlers were greatly displeased with him. His phone had been vibrating nonstop all weekend as Mossad kept trying to reach him. They demanded he return the American immediately or, at the very least, kill her and make it seem as though the terrorists did it.

Al-Qaeda seemed to find it amusing, though they too were telling him to finish her off already and move on to the next mission.

Haswari shook his head, shaking the thought away. No. He was not going to do that, not this time. He'd dedicated his entire life to this service. He'd given up every selfish desire, everything he'd ever truly wanted, to these great entities, but not now.

Not this time.

Haswari breathed in slowly then as the realization of his decision hit him. He wasn't giving her up. He hadn't asked for much from life, nor did he expect it. But this time he almost felt an entitlement to it, to her, really. There was just something about having her there, knowing that her entire world consisted of him, that truly motivated him. He needed to keep her, he needed this. She was his and there was no way he was giving her back.

Haswari couldn't help but smile as he realized this, and his eyes wandered down to the now completely ruined button-less blouse.

And it was then that he had an idea.

----------------------------------------

Gibbs sat silently in MCAT with the director as he informed him of his retirement.

"Well, who's going to replace you?" It was then that he noticed the feminine figure standing a few feet from him.

"Hello, Jethro," that oh-so-familiar voice called from beside him. Gibbs watched her curiously before mumbling,

"Hello, Jenny."

-----------------------------------------

Ziva's phone vibrating pulled her from her thoughts and she mumbled a quick 'excuse me' before stepping off towards the giant expanse of windows.

"_Are you insane?_" she barked angrily in Hebrew before glancing nervously behind her, double checking to see if the two men were watching her. They weren't, obviously, considering how enthralled in their banter they were.

"_Relax, Ziva_," was her brother's response.

"_How could you be so stupid? If you really wanted a girl, Ari-"_ she continued, but was cut off by,

"_I did not just want a girl, Ziva! I wanted this one."_ She stood there for a moment, utterly stunned. She'd never heard her brother snap like that, especially at her. Her brother was always calm and cool-headed and he certainly never invested any true emotions or feelings into what he did.

He seemed to be incredibly protective of this Caitlin Todd.

"_You need to let her go, Ari."_ she murmured with a gentler tone, trying to calm him down. There was silence on the line for what felt like a century before he finally mumbled,

"_I do not think I can, Ziva." _Ziva just sighed, running a hand through her hair. This was way out of hand and she wasn't sure how to fix it.

"_What are you going to do?" _She asked and heard him chuckle knowingly at her question, which was obviously not a good thing.

"_I am very tempted to tease NCIS for a bit_," he murmured in a low, dangerous voice that confirmed Ziva's suspicions. This was not a good thing at all.

"_Brother…," _she said in a warning tone.

"_Relax, little one. You will see my plan soon enough. Very soon, actually." _She was about to inquire as to what he meant by that, but the sounds of feet thudding on stairs jerked her eyes to an excited, grey haired man rushing towards them.

"Gear up. They found something."

Everyone jumped into movement and Gibbs eyed Ziva wearily. She quickly hung up and extended her hand to Gibbs, mumbling,

"Hello. I am Ziva-"

"Yeah, yeah. I know. Jenny told me. Are you coming?" his question seemed like an accusation, his tone implying that she had better say no.

"Of course," she smiled confidently, earning yet another scowl from Gibbs. Shaking his head, he started shepherding the trio towards the door.

An eager, nervous aura quickly engulfed them as the elevator started.

"Hey boss?" McGee chimed in suddenly, filling the silence.

"Yeah, McGee?" he asked absently, his mind obviously somewhere else.

"Who's Jenny?"

------------------------------------

They stood speechless together as they stared at the 'crime scene' before them. It was in the middle of a fairly deserted park, though the yellow tape had attracted a few onlookers. Within the taped off area they had found a neat little display set up waiting for them.

There was a simple pair of blue jeans laid out straight; though they were so torn and ragged they weren't fully recognizable. Laid just above them was a shredded blouse, covered in dirt and a dark red substance that could be blood. Gibbs noted, with a grimace, that the buttons had been roughly torn off.

"I do not understand," Ziva mumbled, breaking the thoughtful silence.

"Why were we called to investigate clothing?" The men cast a darkened expression at her, the grim looks in their eyes silencing her. They recognized that outfit. They knew it was the one Kate had worn the day of the kidnapping.

"Agent Gibbs?" a timid voice called from behind the collective. Gibbs turned sharply, glaring down at the park's patrol officer.

"This was found with the clothes." He handed him a neatly folded note. On the outside was written '_NCIS' _in a large, flowing writing. Gibbs flipped it open slowly, revealing the text within:

_Agent Gibbs-_

_Do not worry._

_Caitlin does not need clothes anymore._

It took all of his willpower not to tear the note to shreds right then.

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Enter Ziva and Jenny ;) (tehe Tiva)

You'll probably notice a few stolen tidbits from a certain episode.

And I can already tell I'm going to be incredibly, sadistically mean to Gibbs and the team.

I wanted the note to say something that would just utterly infuriate them.

By the way, whenever I actually tell you what they're saying in Hebrew I'm going to just type it in italics. That way I won't have to say '"---" they said in another language' every time they say something in Hebrew/ect.


	6. Chapter 6

Kate was going crazy.

It had to have been weeks by this point, though her sense of time was relatively nonexistent. It could have been weeks, months, even years for all she knew. The apocalypse could have come and passed and she would be none the wiser. Her only sign that time was even moving forward at all were the meals sporadically delivered and Haswari's visits. Other than that there was nothing but endless centuries of this dreadful little room.

These four, miserably blank walls loomed around her every day, keeping her trapped in a world of solitude and numbness. She would alternate from sitting on the bed, sitting at the desk, sitting on the floor. That was all she could do in her new, incredibly confined world. In the beginning, she'd tried to keep in shape by working out, doing push ups and stretches. She even sprinted from one wall to the other, slamming herself against them in an attempt to tear them away. All she wanted was to feel them crumble against her and set her free.

She had never craved for anything as desperately as she craved fresh air and sunlight. Even if only for a few minutes, she was almost willing to do anything for just a little change in her environment. Anything to change up the pace of her endless existence.

Still, one could only work out for so many hours in a day. With an eternal clock to operate on, those miniscule little work-outs barely even scratched the surface. She was honestly starting to lose her mind from the boredom.

Much to her own disgust, she found herself becoming disturbingly dependent on Haswari's regular visits. Every day, or what she assumed to be every day, he would come and spend a few hours with her and try to force conversation on her. They tended to be tedious attempts and she would usually just pull herself against the headboard of her bed and refuse to respond to his many stabs at small talk. He would always watch her effort to stay defiant with a small smile, as though he found her antics amusing. He finally started giving up on creating dialogue and instead settled to just tell her tidbits about his day.

Kate would always pretend not to listen, of course. Honestly, did he expect her to care about what he does? She wanted to pretend as though everything he said was not interesting to her, as if she didn't need him at all, but as time passed she couldn't help but take note. He told her about the real world, about restaurants he ate at and places he visited.

Everything she'd been denied for these past (decades?) of her imprisonment.

Everything she wanted.

And now she depended on that just to make it through the day. When she woke up after a freezing night of fitful sleep, she would look forward to that moment that he came bursting in to tell her about something he did that had once been so mundane to her. As she sat at her desk drumming her fingers anxiously, she would think about what he'd say today: _maybe he went to the grocery store? Oh, the grocery store with it's aisles of chips and candies and chocolate…_ It would almost be funny, if it weren't so darn sad, to think about how something so utterly boring as going grocery shopping had managed to make its way into her fantasies.

She really needed to get out of this place.

So that is how she found herself here, sitting atop her desk now for the thirty eighth time since she had woken up, staring at the door and willing it to open or explode or do anything at all that could be even mildly entertaining. She felt this desperate urge to look at her wristwatch, knowing deep down that there won't be anything there. She started tapping out a beat on the desk, feeling especially anxious suddenly. It took her a moment to realize just what was off today.  
Haswari hadn't come to visit.

Typically, when this much time had passed since she woke up he would have already popped in to say something at least once. A sudden thought hit her, making her feel unusually nervous: what if he didn't come today?

As if on cue, though, she heard her door being unlocked from the outside and saw the doorknob begin to turn. Relief washed over her before she could suppress it, and she quickly denied it was relief. Why on earth would she be relieved to see the man who kidnapped her?

Her (not) relief halted instantly, however, when some man that was definitely not Haswari walked in. Kate didn't budge from her position on the desk, her confusion written all over her face.

"I don't have to go to the bathroom."

The man looked at her with a cold fury, his lips snarled up in disgust. She'd never spoken to this man before in her life and yet he so clearly despised her already. Slowly and purposefully, the man closed the door to her room, listening for it to click shut. Kate's heart kicked a beat, suddenly realizing the situation she was in. This wasn't Haswari she was dealing with; this was some random, very angry man.

A man who had just secluded himself with her in a small, inescapable room.

This was not her ideal situation.

The man murmured something under his breath as he glared at her and, despite not speaking his language, Kate instantly realized it was some sort of derogatory aimed right at her. And then in an instant he was on her, grabbing at her and dragging her from the desk. Kate let out a yelp of surprise as he threw her to the floor. He leered down at her, murmuring something else she didn't understand. Oh yes, he definitely hated her.

He pulled his leg back, obviously preparing to kick her, but Kate's mind had managed to catch up with the situation and she quickly rolled aside, pulling herself to her feet. Not hesitating for even a moment, Kate managed to land a firm punch to his jaw, forcing the man to stagger back in surprise. He obviously hadn't anticipated a fight.

He launched himself at her again, pushing her backwards towards the bed in an attempt to knock her off her feet. She felt herself trip as she flew back, her hand shooting out to grab a chunk of his hair. He shouted out in pain as he was dragged with her and they flopped down roughly on the bed, the wind knocked out of them both. Kate managed to recuperate first as she shot out another punch, hitting him roughly in the stomach. He clutched it for a moment, letting out a gasp, before finally throwing a punch of his own.

Kate recoiled in pain as his fist slammed into her cheek and she could feel the small trickle of blood ebb its way from her nose. The man, seeing her moment of weakness, took the chance to jump at her fully, pinning her to the bed in what was sadly becoming a familiar position for Kate.

This was the second time someone had tried to force themselves on her since she'd been kidnapped, and she was getting incredibly tired of it. She managed to maneuver her knee around enough to land a kick at his groin, causing him to reel back in pain. She repositioned her legs around his waist, slamming another punch to his face. He was clearly out of it as he leaned towards her, and she used the opportunity to grab a fistful of his shirt, preparing to finally throw the barely coherent man off her and escape.

That is, of course, until Haswari walked in.

It took him all of two seconds to assess the situation: one of the men in his group had _his _Caitlin pinned to her bed, her legs wrapped around him in a way that made Haswari's blood boil. She was gripping his shirt desperately and the man's head was lulling slightly as he leaned against her neck. Kate shot Haswari a wide, horrified look, as though she'd been caught doing something bad.  
Something inside of him snapped.

He flung himself across the room, yanking the man off her and throwing him against the wall with a cry of outrage. The man let out a painful "oomph" as his face collided with the wall and he slumped painfully to the ground, but he was allowed no time to catch his breath as Haswari was on him in an instant, slamming his foot down on the fallen man's chest.

Kate watched from the bed in horror as Haswari assaulted the man, a rage in his eyes she'd never seen before. He honestly looked like he might kill the man and, despite the scrap they'd had moments before, Kate knew she couldn't just let the man die. Realizing this, Kate found herself leaping from the bed and rushing to his side, grabbing at his arm. Haswari, still in his violent haze, pushed her roughly away from him, causing her to fall back against the wall with a painful thud. Kate just stood there against the wall, surprised and somewhat frightened at his violent outburst. He really was in a blind, violent haze.

After another round of kicks and shots at the man curled up in a ball on the floor, Haswari finally stopped long enough to shout something in that foreign language. The man, who had his hands wrapped around his head in an attempt to protect himself from the blows, looked up sheepishly before sprinting from the room, desperate for safety. Haswari's eyes followed his departure until he was out of sight, then slowly lifted to lock on Kate.

Kate felt her heart stop.

Haswari walked towards her briskly, causing her to raise her hands up in preparation for another fight. He stormed past her, however, instead opting to slam the door to her room with great force. Kate took advantage of this and slunk off to the bed, pulling herself as far from this man as possible. He needed to cool down a bit before she even attempted to talk to him.

Haswari stared at the door for a moment before letting out another roar of anger, slamming his hand against the wall where she'd stood moments before. He lashed out a kick, as well, attacking the wall mercilessly in fury. It suddenly occurred to Kate that, in his mind, the wall was her. Gradually his vicious assault of the wall calmed down until he wasn't moving at all.

"What did you do with him, Caitlin?" Haswari spoke slowly; his words dripping with such venom that Kate found herself shivering involuntarily.

"Nothing," she responded, wide eyed. Haswari was breathing so heavily, his eyes clouding over with anger. He looked as if he were about to explode again, and Kate knew for a fact that she did not want him exploding again.

"I swear. He attacked me," she was whispering now and she wasn't even sure why she was justifying herself to him, but this entire situation told her that the smartest thing for her to do was appease this man. Haswari finally looked at her, his frantic breathing settling down as he saw the discomfort in her eyes. His frown lessened a tad as he brought his hand to his forehead, covering his eyes.

"I apologize, then."  
Kate glanced up, confused.

"I should have known better than to allow him in this building. He has been against my bringing you here from the very start. I should have suspected he would try something. He does not like that I have kept you alive, Caitlin." Haswari opened his fingers slightly, his eyes peering out between the slits.

"No one seems to like that I've kept you alive." His voice was quieter now, as though he were contemplating the entire situation. Kate remained silent, unsure of how to respond. Haswari pulled his hand away completely, locking her with a hard stare which she returned willingly now, all too tired of all of this.

If he wanted to try and kill her he could go ahead and do it.

She almost found herself hoping he'd try something, just try anything at all. That fight she just had was the most exhilarating thing she had experienced in far too long, and she'd much rather he kill her now than have to return to that utter boredom she has been living in before. She had almost single handedly fought off the last guy, so why not Haswari?

At this point she was up for anything.

Still, her survival instinct was kicking in and she knew that fighting this guy would be a very bad idea. Appeasement was the way to go, but if that didn't work…

Her hand trailed down to her waistband, running over that small blade stashed so close to her flesh. It felt warm against her, a constant reminder that she was not completely defenseless. Is it strange to say that the blade had become like a security blanket for her, to say that just the knowledge that she had it was enough to give her hope? The blade was her last line of defense. It told her that she still had a chance.

She was still mentally preparing herself for a possible battle when he said it.

"I brought you something."

She froze, not entirely sure she'd heard him correctly. He _brought_ her something? He moved towards her now, sitting on the edge of the bed, a small smile now replacing his otherwise permanent frown. Haswari extended his hand in an almost timid manner, slowly revealing her gift.

Kate couldn't help the small, shocked gasp that escaped her lips.

In his hands was a small Dollar Store brand sketchpad, spiral bound, with a slightly torn cover. It seemed almost dirty and appeared to be missing a few pages. Not to mention the fact that someone had apparently decided to draw what could only be described as a deformed camel on the cover. The half-way destroyed little book looked as if it had been fished out of a two year old's garbage can.

It was beautiful.

She reached out tentatively for it and slowly accepted it from his hands. She slid her fingers over the cover gently, taking in this new, unfamiliar texture. Working as if it were some priceless artifact, she delicately lifted the cover and gaped at the smooth, empty page beneath. She thumbed through the pages, thrilled by the number. She felt like a kid in a candy store.

Her eyes flew up to Haswari in that instant, begging for him to not just be teasing her. She could not imagine a greater torture than for him to give her this without the proper tool to use it. Kate soon found her prayers answered, however, as he brandished from his pocket the exact tool she suddenly craved:

An old, used number two pencil with a barely there stub of an eraser.

Kate wanted to squeal with excitement as she snatched it from him, eyeing it almost lecherously. Suddenly this day looked a lot better. Haswari laughed as he watched her ravishing her new things, the only new things she'd had in exactly two weeks.

He had been out working all day and had seen the little sketchbook left in the garbage behind a convenient store. Haswari couldn't help but remember his little captive waiting for him at home and, in a whimsical moment, decided to bring it to her. The look of euphoria on her face was more than worth it and he found himself forgetting the soon-to-be-dead idiot who had tried to touch her. By the ecstatic look on Kate's face, he assumed she had already forgotten.

Haswari smiled at her, watching her eye the gifts for a few more minutes before finally mumbling,

"Well, Caitlin, I am exhausted… I will see you in the morning." There was no reply as he exited and he doubted that she had even heard him. She was honestly that wrapped up in her new items. He just let out another chuckle before slipping out of the room.

Kate, oblivious to his departure, flopped instantly to the floor. Slowly, she began the meticulous process of counting each individual page of her new book. She couldn't fight off the excitement when she reached the end.

Twenty three.

There were twenty three pages in her new book. Twenty three different opportunities to draw anything, everything she wanted. Or maybe she could split the pages in half and have forty six. Oh! If she split it in fourths…

And that is the position Kate remained in for the rest of the night, slowly thumbing back and fourth through the pages, examining and planning. It had been so long since she'd been able to draw, or to really do anything, that she just didn't know how to react now that she had the chance. She found herself constantly picking up the pencil just to stare at it, memorize it, only to put it back down again. It was like she was afraid to even start drawing, because the moment she put a line on that paper she would have less space to draw later.

At some point Kate glanced up, finally realizing that Haswari had disappeared. She almost felt disappointed then as she scoped out her empty room. She had felt an overwhelming urge to hug the crazy man that had kidnapped her.

I mean really, the man had brought her a sketchpad and pencil.

How evil could he really be?

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Haha thank you **Cat and NCIS Obsessed** for pointing out that MCAT typo.  
That made me giggle.  
Hehe.  
MCAT.

So sorry for taking so long to post ): I'm trying to alternate and post one chapter of each story I'm working on consecutively, but that doesn't seem to be working too well, time wise. Anywho, I'm enjoying slowly introducing the elements that will create the Stockholm syndrome (: I love psychological stuff.  
Nothing says love quite like perceived violence and hostage situations.  
Though I am having some difficulty keeping Kate defiant, considering I need her to be somewhat submissive for this story.  
Ah well, it's a delicate balance but I will work hard to keep it as in character as physically possible.


	7. Chapter 7

Things were not going well for Haswari.

Everything seemed to be falling apart as he sat in the makeshift conference room with a collection of his comrades, all as red-eyed and exhausted as him. They had been up all night, sitting in these rusted old fold-up chairs around this stained wooden table, staring at a large phone sitting in the center. They were on a conference call, the old phone set to speaker as their leader directed them from across the world.

A lot had happened within the last twenty four hours: one of their men, a young Jihadist desperate to be martyred, had tried to infiltrate a government building in hopes of hacking into the federal government's mainframe and planting a destructive worm. His objective was to launch the worm, stealing and sending out information before erasing hard drives, and, once it was finished uploading, he would press the button on the detonator hidden in his sleeve, igniting the C-4 strapped to his chest. If everything went as planned the building would be destroyed, the worm would steal priceless information, and the man's dying thoughts would be filled with prayer, retribution, and anticipation of the rewards waiting in the here after.

But things rarely do ever go as planned.

The man was apprehended while launching the worm. Apparently, the technicians that designed the virus had not known about a recent update to the federal mainframe's defense system, and their attempted hack had triggered some sort of roaring alarm. The man was on the ground in handcuffs before he even thought about pressing the detonator.

This created a massive problem for Haswari and his team. This young man had undergone extensive training and probably would not talk, but he was still a liability. The man had been living in America for six months, working at a small laundry mat in town, and he had lived and trained on the compound the entire time. This compound, the very same compound they all sat on now. The same compound where he was keeping Caitlin.

It wasn't going to take long for the pieces to fall in place, they all knew. The man had been seen coming and going from this place, it was probably listed as his address on his work application sheet. It was only a matter of time before NCIS got the location, before they came flying in here to apprehend them all. They all needed to act now.

"_Alright,"_ the faceless voice stated over the intercom, _"You have twenty minutes. I want the compound completely sanitized and neutralized. Nothing incriminating can remain, no left behind clues. Get rid of everything, then disappear. Understood?" _The men all echoed a confirmation, and the commanding voice dismissed them.

Haswari stood up to leave with the rest, but the voice called out to stop him.

"_Haswari, in light of this recent development I have decided that, in this time crunch, transporting prisoners would be impossible." _

His heart constricted in his chest as he knew what was going to be said.

"_Therefore, I've ordered that all prisoners be executed immediately. That includes your federal agent. Understood?"_

Haswari remained silent, unable to respond.

"_I said understood, Haswari?"_ the voice was testy now, angry at his silence. Haswari stared at the phone, waiting another moment before responding.

"_Understood, sir."_

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Kate had spent the entire day on the floor with her back against the desk, carefully sketching through her book. She had been hesitant to use it at first, but the second her pencil had touched the paper it started moving on its own, overjoyed at suddenly having something to do.

She'd already used half the pages, carefully tearing them from the book and scattering them across the floor so she could see all of them at once. Her first drawing had been of Gibbs, his cool, confident face appearing slowly on the page as her hand worked on its own. She didn't think about it at all, just let the images flow.

The next had been of Tony, followed by McGee. Tony was smiling a smug, condescending smile as he gazed off the page, and Kate positioned the picture next to the one of McGee's, making him look flabbergasted and uncertain. Abby, fully decked out in her dog collar and two pigtails, had a huge, excited smile on her face, as if she were telling Kate all about some forensic discovery she'd made.

Ducky soon followed, not to mention Gerald. She even spared a page for her parents, the two hugging and smiling like the last time she'd seen them. She tried to imagine every person she knew from the outside, every face she missed, and put it down on paper. The pages surrounded her, overlapping and merging into a solid circle around her, and for just a moment Kate pretended that they were real. She pretended that the pictures were the actual people, all there with her then, watching over her with their wide smiles.

Kate pretended that, just for this moment, she wasn't completely alone.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

This was unacceptable.

Simply unacceptable.

To ask, no, to _demand _that he kill his Caitlin was simply an unacceptable order, regardless of whom issued it. They didn't understand his motivation; they didn't realize why he had kept her alive for so long.

There was no ransom; he hadn't demanded the release of hostages or the removal of troops in exchange for her safety. If anything, he would want them to think she was dead. He didn't want them to come for her, because he didn't want to give her back.

No, he wouldn't give her back, and he certainly wouldn't kill her. He was the only one who knew about the termination order, and no one would know if he didn't fulfill it.

Haswari checked his watch- he had thirteen minutes. Thirteen minutes to clear house, because he knew that the minute time ran to zero they were torching the place. The entire compound would be burned to the ground, and anyone left behind with it.

He had thirteen minutes to sneak her out.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

It all happened so fast.

Kate had just about finished her latest sketch when the door flew open, the bang reverberating off the walls. She leapt up instantly, naturally reaching to her waistband for the razor blade. She had just managed to pull it from its confines when Haswari came flying in, stomping over her sketches and grabbing at her.

"Quickly, Caitlin." There was an edge to his voice, an urgency that made her hesitate.

"What's going on?" she demanded, earning herself an agitated glare.

"We are leaving, come along." There it was again. Agitation, fear.  
Uncertainty.  
Something big was happening.

And as he dragged her out into the hallway, a sudden wave of bravery overwhelmed her.

Haswari could feel her arm tug as she stopped walking behind him and a fresh wave of anger rose up as he turned to yell at her.

It didn't register with him, at first, that she'd slashed him.  
He saw the movement, felt the scrape on his neck, the soft wetness as blood seeped. It wasn't until she slammed her fist into his nose and sent him sprawling across the hall that he realized what was going on. The long cut from where the razor had skimmed his throat stung as he tried to lift his head to look at her, only to find her foot slamming into his chest.

He fell to the ground, then, knocked out for a few vital moments. Kate took advantage of this, quickly dragging him two feet into the doorway of her room, shoving him carelessly on the floor. She felt a smug satisfaction as she pulled the door shut behind her, hearing the lock click. For once it was Haswari who was locked in.

She turns then, running, her bare feet sliding on the cold wooden floors as she bound towards the door at the end of the stairwell. She had a bit of time now, time to force the door open. A wave of joy hit her as the doorknob turned in her hand, finally unlocked for the first time. She stood there for a moment, mentally preparing herself to step out, but the shouts of a now awake Haswari above tells her there is no time for preparation as she rips the door open and reveals the outside.

Kate finally gets to see the compound that she's been living on all this time. It's pretty unimpressive, as it is nothing more than a few buildings scattered around a giant, empty dirt field. Off to the left, some thirty feet from where she stood, was a thick, lush forest that contrasted greatly with the barren lot she had just entered. After quickly scanning the field, she finally took in the people around it.

The world had dissolved into chaos. All around her were men rushing about, grabbing anything that was not nailed down and throwing them into cars. Anything that couldn't be transported was being burned, all incriminating items destroyed. Everyone was focused on the task of eliminating evidence, and no one realized that the American captive had escaped.

She turned quickly, closing the door behind her. Dropping to the ground, Kate started a desperate half-crawl towards the neighboring wood, determined to keep in the shadows.

Maneuvering through the underbrush, Kate tried to ignore the twinges of pain caused by her bare hands and feet on the weeds and thorns that dot the overgrown strip. She crouched down as low as possible, though there wasn't a bush high enough or thick enough to hide her completely, and she silently prayed that no one looked her way.

As if her luck was ever that good. Much to her horror, one man seemed to tune into her thoughts and, sensing her presence, slowly looked up from his work across the expanse of dirt. Their eyes locked instantly as time stood still, and the man stood their studying her curiously. Within that frozen moment, she watched in horror as his features danced from surprise to realization and then finally to anger. Kate remained in place, unsure of what to do.

The man's sudden shout of anger, however, took away all other options as he alerted the entire yard of her presence. In an instant a dozen men were rushing towards her, and she had just enough time to leap from the shadows and sprint the final few feet to the edge of the wood.

She felt a sense of relief wash over her as the great forest's shadow engulfed her, but the relief was short-lived as the thud of a horde of men echoed in hot pursuit behind her.

Oh yeah, this was not good at all.

-----------------------------------------------

Haswari could hear the shouts of, _"American! Stop her!"_ and he knew Caitlin did not have long. Pulling himself together and wiping the blood from the line on his throat, he tried to leave the room, only to find the door locked.

He couldn't help the soft, sarcastic chuckle that escaped his lips. Not only had Caitlin used her hidden razor on him, but she had locked him in. His admiration for her outweighed his agitation as he shook the handle, determined to open it up. As much as he enjoyed her insubordinate nature, now was not at all a good time for this. Those men would not hesitate to kill her.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Haswari backed himself up and across the room, going until he felt the wall hit his back. Satisfied by the distance, he took off in a fast sprint before ramming his shoulder into the door. He could feel it splinter a bit under his weight and after a few more strong rams the door fell apart before him.

He rushed down the stairs and outside, quickly scanning the compound. There weren't many people left, as time was certainly running thin, but a sudden shout of anger from the woods drew his attention.

Without a second of hesitation, he turned and raced into the forest.

----------------------------------------------

Kate fought to quiet her breathing as she squatted against a tree, her ragged old t-shirt ripping slightly as the old oak's bark clung at her, as though it too wanted her trapped here, in captivity. She could still hear the thud of her captors' feet as they searched for her. She struggled to stop gasping for breath as she crouched low to the ground. It had been quite awhile since she had last run and she was having trouble keeping her stamina. She knew she shouldn't have given up those work out routines...

A shout from a few feet behind her told her that they'd spotted her there and soon enough she was on her feet again in a desperate run. One of the men was on her in an instant and she could feel the man's hands roughly shove her down, causing her to topple face forward into the brush. She landed on her hands and knees with a _hmmpf_, her hair creating a curtain around her face. The man stared down smugly at her, hoping that behind the wall of hair she had started to cry. He certainly hoped she was crying.

He hated Americans.

With a small smile he crept up to her now, looming over his fallen prey. He needed to end this already, he knew. Time was running short and he needed to get back and pack before the federal agents arrived. He reached gingerly towards his lower back, pulling out his small handgun as he approached steadily towards her. She seemed to be trying to crawl away; as if there were anywhere she could escape to.

Finally bored with this pathetic display, he lashed a foot out, knocking her down with a slight cry and flipping her onto her back. He smiled, aiming his gun at her. This was far too easy. He studied her face, expecting tears in her eyes and a plea for mercy on her lips. That's why he was so surprised when he saw her arrogant, knowing smile.

Hating that expression, the man decided to go ahead and wipe that look off her face by ending this. He cocked his weapon. It was finally over—

--until her foot lashed out suddenly, knocking his knee back with a snap as the man tumbled to the ground. He didn't even have time to think as she leapt at him, tearing at his hands for the gun. He was so shocked by her actions that he could barely defend himself. Who was this girl that she could fight him like that? He managed to throw a single punch, knocking her across the face, but she didn't slow down at all as she slammed him in the stomach. He recoiled in pain and frustration.

Her hands were pushing the gun, pushing it towards him, and it suddenly occurred to him that perhaps he should push it towards her, instead. And then it was too late as the gun went off, its loud bang reverberating throughout the woods. A bird cawed in the distance and leaves rustled. Then everything went still.

They lay like that for a moment, neither bodies moving, until finally Kate pulled herself off the now utterly still man. She gasped for breath, having still not caught it from her earlier dash for freedom, and she stared silently at the now permanent look of shock etched on the dead man's face. It had been the man's last expression, the look of total disbelief as they both fought for their lives. It seems that she had won.

Kate watched as his shirt slowly darkened where the bullet had entered, the blackish red stain creeping slowly out to cover his entire chest. She glanced down with disgust to see that the blood had stained her t-shirt, as well.

She stared at him for far too long before slowly pulling the gun from his fingers. She continued to stare, memorizing the details of his face. She contemplated reaching out and closing his eyes, but a shout from afar told her that she needed to move on. Pulling herself together, she jumped up from the body and sprinted away.

----------------------------------------------

She had managed to make it a whole fifteen yards before another shout called. This time it was much closer than the dead man's, much too close.

Bushes rustled a few feet from her and Kate swung around to find herself completely surrounded. There were at least six of them, spread out in a circle as they appeared from behind trees and bushes. They looked furious.

They advanced on her without hesitation, but she swung her gun up, shifting her aim steadily to point it at each of them in turn.

"Stay back," she ordered, her voice surprisingly strong. The men paused for only a moment before moving forward slowly. One man rushed her then, and she sidestepped, sending him tumbling forward. Taking the hint, two others advanced on her, one managing to get a hold of her arm while the other tried to throw a punch.

Kate reacted instantly, ducking down to avoid the hit as she lashed out a kick, causing the man to hit his partner before being knocked in the groin by her knee. They both fell down in a heap.

She turned to one of the men still standing, aiming and pulling the trigger without any hesitation. He dropped instantly, and the other two men tackled her. She wriggled from under the assault, the weight of two almost crushing her. She went for her gun, but a strike from one of the men sent it flying from her grasp and sliding in the leaves, far out of reach. Her secret service training kicked in and she defended her face and shot out blows to their vitals. These men, who had obviously never had any formal training, were knocked senseless quickly.

Pulling herself up and away, she started to make an escape before she felt a sickening snap of pain from her leg. She hit the ground with a cry, her hands wrapping around the now twisted entanglement that was her ankle. It didn't take more than a glance to figure out it was broken.

Her eyes shot up as she looked for her assailant, her eyes locking on the first man who had rushed her, now standing above her with an arrogant smirk and a massive rock in his hands. While she was stepping over him he'd slammed it against her leg, shattering her ankle.

Kate scrambled backwards, dragging herself until she felt her back hit a tree. She could feel a wave of drowsiness hit her suddenly as the final man approached, a devilish glint in his eyes. Kate reached quickly to her waist band, pulling out her razor blade and clutching it carefully between her fingers, preparing to strike. The man snickered as he watched her, but it didn't matter. She wasn't going down without a fight, even if her only defense was a rusted old blade.

The man had an angry, vengeful look as he stepped over his fallen comrades, and she knew how excited he was to kill her. Despite her adrenaline, Kate felt her eyelids drooping as her consciousness seeped away and she had to fight to stay awake. The endorphins from her ankle were filling her, and she felt a desperate urge to close her eyes. But she couldn't, she knew, because there was no doubt in her mind that if she closed her eyes now she would never open them again.

She pulled the razor blade into her fist as the man reached for her, and with one quick motion she slashed at his hand. He recoiled in surprise, glancing down at the slow forming line of red on his palm. Then he laughed, a cold, bitter laugh, and she knew she had no chance. She watched as he brought his fist back, obviously deciding to skip any sort of gunplay and just _beat _her to death. Kate pushed her razor forward in one last attempt at defense.

If he was going to punch her, the least she could do was give him a nice razor cut.

She jumped when the gun went off.

She had been waiting for the impact, and she thought he had hit her and that that was the sound of bones breaking, of her life being taken. That's why she was so surprised when the man collapsed on top of her, bending her ankle at an odd angle that forced an anguished scream from her.

She glanced up and over the man in her lap, into the blinding light that forced its way through the trees, a direct beam into her eyes, and watched as a silhouette appeared, shielding her eyes from the sun. This shadow, this dark angel that stood with its back to the light, had saved her.

Her rescuer, hearing her cry, rushed to her quickly and pulled the now dead body from her.

"Are you hurt?" he asked, though the twist of her ankle was an answer in itself. She just stared at him in shock, unable to form words. He glanced up at her again before mumbling a concerned,

"Caitlin?"

Snapping back into reality, Kate pointed to her leg.

"It's broken," she stated dumbly. As if he couldn't see that for himself. He nodded once before moving towards her, his arms wrapping around her. She shrunk away, her mind still in fight mode.

"We need to go now. They'll be here soon." Kate stopped her struggle then, giving up on fighting back at all as he pulled her up into his arms, clutching her protectively to his chest. She let out a soft whimper at the jarring of her leg, but the wave of endorphins shot through her and once more she felt her eyelids droop.

Haswari carried her over the bodies of his comrades, trudging deeper into the forest, and for the first time Kate allowed her guard to drop as her eyes closed. She nestled into his chest subconsciously, one arm wrapping around his neck. He smiled slightly as she passed out, and he pulled her even closer as they moved away from the compound.

He was right when he said they would be there soon, for NCIS arrived three minutes later.


	8. Author's Note Please read

A/N  
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Alright guys, I am so incredibly sorry for how I have left this story hanging for the last few months. And honestly, every time I see this story my heart feels heavy because I know how infuriating it is for an author to not finish a story, but at the same time I have lost any and all motivation/inspiration for this story. The truth of the matter is, this story was mapped out to be at least 40 chapters, and I simply do not have the sort of motivation to stick through to the end. I know, I know, I'm terrible.

But the more I thought about it, the more I realized I couldn't just leave things the way they are, because I really want to finish every single one of my stories.  
So here is where you come in.

I have two options for what to do with this story, and you the reader will help me determine what to do.

Option one is for me to take all the outlines, planning, and writings that I have mapped out for the rest of this story and convert it all into one giant final chapter. This would essentially summarize everything I had planned for the rest of this story. Some parts will be more detailed than others, because I will take things I had already written for future chapters. It will tell you all the possible turns and takes I was planning on making for this story, and the possible ending(s) I had planned. This would probably be a huge file and it will take me a few weeks to get it up, but if we choose to go this route I will try desperately to have it up by the end of November.

The other option is that I simply leave the story hanging where it is with that massive cliff hanger in the hopes that I one day rediscover my lost muse for this particular fandom. Would I say that that is likely to happen? No, probably not. Maybe a 10% chance, 15% tops. Still, some people might prefer I leave it at its current twist of an ending.

Now, if any of you have an opinion on the matter, I ask that you leave a review or send me a message or something telling me which option you'd prefer, because really you're the only reason I'm even considering doing one giant final chapter. I don't want to leave you hanging. And if no one gives me any feedback on this, then I will just assume that all my readers have moved on, at which point I will just leave the story as it is.

So please, tell me what you think (:

This is all up to you.

Thanks again guys, and I do apologize for my flakey muse.


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